The Birth of Organized Islam

By

Ian Johnson

Updated Nov. 9, 2005 12:01 a.m. ET

As the ghettoized suburbs of Paris and other big French cities burn, two groups stand to benefit most: the police, who undoubtedly will see their budgets skyrocket, and Islamist organizations, who are already being portrayed as the only groups capable of calming France's Muslim minority.

But how did we get to this stage, where ghettos are permeated by a network of Islamist organizations? Was it by happenstance -- ideological supply...